What I'd Do For You
by XxGypsyZanitaxX
Summary: Kai, a nurse, lives in a country who is deep in war. Her boyfriend, Shane, enters the war to be taken by the enemy's government. Kai & her patient work together to get Shane before it's too late. *written in first person*


How far would you go to save the one you love most? He says he can handle himself until he slowly slips away. His eyes so sincere, so honest, and innocent. He tells you the truth. The medical team awakes him. What is the first thing he tells you? "I told you I can handle it." He smiles because he knows how true he is to his word. What happens if he tells you that he can't go on any further? You don't believe him, but you take it to consideration and go upon yourself to help him. Does it work?

I stand here holding flowers in my hands, ready to cry. Why? I'll tell you my story:

War raged through our country. My boyfriend, Shane, and I walk the sidewalks to and from the hospital where I work. He works at the police station not far from it.

It was manditory to know what to do if you are too close(within a mile) to a fight. We weren't too worried. It's been months and we always walked while listening to explosions in the distance.

"I have to tell you something." He spoke as we held hands.

I smiled, not looking at him for an expression, "Yes?"

"It's something critical."

I now gazed up at him, noticing a different tone in his voice than usual, "Well, what is it?"

Shane took a deep sigh before speaking. It made me wait anxiously for an answer. "I was called..." He hesitated, "...to be drafted."

There was a sudden sick feeling in my stomach. "What?" I asked weakly.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. I had it texted to me just yesterday." He tried to reassure me. It wasn't working much, but it was a good attempt.

"No. Thank you for telling me."

"You don't look alright though."

I was holding onto my stomach. Then I let go seeing how much he noticed it, "No, I'm fine."

"I know that when you start saying 'no' it means that you are not okay."

I sighed, "Okay, I'm not fine." He knew me all too well.

Shane smiled, "Why aren't you? I will be fine."

After thinking about it, I forced a smile. Everytime he said that he would be fine, he always is. This time was different. There was a sick feeling in my stomach. My heart told me that it might be different this time. "When do you have to leave?"

He paused for a moment and pondered his answer. Once he was done, he responded, "They stated...as soon as possible."

"So...it's soon?"

"Yes."

I took a deep sigh and covered my face. I never want anyone to see me when I cry. Especially in the hospital, where I have to be strong for the soilders who are wounded and don't know that they won't make it. I don't want Shane to be one of those soilders.

He moved ahead of me, then faced me, grabbing my shoulders, "Kai, please have some faith in me," There were tears begining to form in his eyes, "The last thing I want to think of when I do this is you being worried. You have to trust me. Please, Kai?"

I didn't want to look at his face. The thought going through my head of not seeing him made it harder for me to think. "Ok." I sniffed.

He twisted around and we began to walk again. His arm wrapped around me tightly. My head leaned against his chest and I was able to hear his heart. It was amazing how he could calm his heart rate. I knew that mine was not at a healthy pace at the moment. I felt that I couldn't breathe. If I lost Shane, why would I even want to breathe?

Thoughts raced in my head. It was to the point were a headache was forming, but I didn't care. I wanted to find a way to avoid this.

"Kai?" He asked gently.

I responded, "Yes?"

"I love you so much, but I can't change my mind and no one can stop it."

He knew that I was thinking. What else would I be doing in fifteen minutes of silence walking home? It was never that way.

I nodded, "I know." My head pressed harder against his chest. My arm wrapped around him and I held on tight. The tears dried as time calmed me.

We made it to our house. It felt longer since we didn't talk. Shane did not remove his arms away from me the whole way into the living room. He lyed on the couch and placed me on top of him. I felt so tired and weak. I was sure that he felt the same. We both closed our eyes and quickly fell asleep.

"You need to get up." Shane spoke softly.

I smiled and opened my eyes. With the nightmare I had, I held his face between my hands. "Good morning," I said.

His expression was puzzled, "You're smiling," He then grinned, "That's great."

I lifted myself from the couch, "Of course. I just had this really upsetting nightmare, but you're here, so im smiling."

"What was it about?"

I moved my knees up and rested my chin on them, "You going into the war."

His smile faded, "Kai, that wasn't a dream."

My smile dissapeared. I looked him up and down. He was wearing a military uniform, "No. No, no, no, no," My eyes closed tightly, "Im still dreaming!"

He grabbed my arms and shook me, chuckling while he was at it, "Calm down, please." He sat next to me. My eyes still not opening. "You're gonna have to realize that you're not dreaming. It's funny though."

"Funny?" I opened my eyes, "You think that this is funny?"

"No. I mean you freaking out is funny."

"Why is that so funny?"

He sighed, "Because I'm going to miss it."

I placed my head down and took a deep breath. Words were not coming to my lips.

"Kai."

My head lifted to see him, "Yeah?"

He bent to kiss my forehead, "I have to go."

We both lifted off of the couch and walked to the front door. He turned and placed my head between his hands. I laid my hands over his and closed my eyes. Tears were forming, but I tried so hard to fight them. One eventually did fall. I felt his thumb wiped it away. It made me want to cry even more, but I held back.

"Kai? Open your eyes."

Slowly, my eyes opened. I was afraid of tears falling, but they didn't.

"I love you so much." He got down on one knee and pulled a small box from his pocket. "Will you marry me, Kai?"

My tears could not be held back any longer. I fell to my knees and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Yes, Shane. I will."

He got up, lifting me along with him.

I removed my arms around him and he opened the box. Inside was the ring. It was 14k gold with a diamond in the center and two smaller ones on each side of it. Shane held up my hand and put on the ring.

He smiled, "I fits you perfectly."

I smiled in reply.

Shane slightly opened the door. Two men were outside waiting for him. Both stood patiently for him. Shane looked back to me, "I love you."

"I love you too."

For a moment, he paused. Then he turned to me and kissed me one last time. When we pulled back, we simply smiled reassuring ourselves. Without a word, he opened the door enough for him to walk out and then gently closed it.

My head was filled with many different emotions. Whether I was happy to be Shane's fiancee' or if I was upset that he was gone, I cried. I fell to my knees and wept. These were the tears I have from him being gone. I kept thinking that I wasn't going to have a wedding, but a funeral instead.

I took a deep sigh and lifted myself from the floor. After making my way to the couch, I turned on the television. The news was on, but I muted it. I then looked at the clock. I needed to be at work in thrity minutes. I was going to be late today. Today Shane wasn't going to be walking with me. It hurt to know that that will be.

After sitting in silence for awhile, I went to the bedroom to get dressed. As I was putting on my jewlry, two notes lyed on the dresser. I looked away from the mirror and down to the notes. One was addressed to Shane and another was addressed to me. I unfolded the one for me and it was Shane's handwritting:

I hope that you read this note before the other one. I don't want you to worry, but it is important that you read the other note. Don't forget me. I love you.

-Shane

I folded the note and placed it into my pocket. When reaching for the other note, I hesitated. What could it say to make me worry even more? I unfolded it to find out:

Shane, on behalf of the nation of Yulasia, you have been chosen to take part in the war. This, however, is not an ordinary request such as the other soldiers have been asked. Very few have the skill to accomplish this vital mission. We have concluded that you are one of the few. Two men will be accompanying you. Our request from you is to assassinate the president of LaTaku. If you accept, please contact us as soon as possible. We need you.

-President of Yulasia

I sighed. Why didn't he tell me this? Why didn't he say that we was going to kill the enemy's president? It _did_ make me worry more. I've seen how brutal the country is with their prisoners. The torture and then the killing. Some of my patients were victims of torture. They cry out in the middle of the silent night, screaming, "Stop! Stop!" It continues every night on more than one occassion. This cannot happen to Shane. It upset me more to know that he had not told me. It is, however, better than not knowing.

He said, 'Don't forget me.' Of course I won't. Why would he think that I would? There was not a second since meeting him have I ever forgotten about him and he knows that. It didn't make sense, but it was his hand writing.

I folded the note from the president and placed it in my pocket next to Shane's note. Then I left the house.

My hands continued to stay in their pockets, even when I arrived at the hospital. I was afraid of the notes falling out of them.

There were more patients today than usual. I wondered why. I was called to rush one of them to the emergency room. He smiled although I could clearly see that he was in pain, "It's almost over."

"What is?" It sounded as if he meant that his life was almost over. It wasn't, but I just wanted to ask to make sure and then assure him that it was not.

His smile grew widder, "This war." He grabbed my arm as I pushed the bed. He looked deep into my eyes, "This goddamn war."

I smiled, but I wasn't sure if what he said was true. He was being optimistic and that is completely fine to me. Especially to bring light to every other person who thought otherwise. I kept the thought in my head to reassure myself.

The occupancy of the patients were odd though. If the war was almost over, then what was the cause for the sudden surge of soldiers?

As I rushed out of the E.R. and headed to the entrance to bring in more soldiers. One was left outside and other nurses and doctors kept passing him. This angered me.

I jogged outside to him, "Why is he left out here?! Bring him in!"

Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I turned to see who it was. It was one of the members of my medical team, Erik, "He's an enemy, he is not allowed to be helped. Let him die."

I pulled my arm away from him and turned back to the soldier.

Again, my arm was grabbed, "What did I just say?"

"He's still human. I will work on him myself if you want me to."

Erik let go of my arm, refusing to look straight into my eyes.

I didn't hesitate to turn back and run towards the soldier. His dark olive, tanned skin was barely showing on his head. It was completely covered in blood. "Can you speak?"

"Yes." He responded weakly.

"I'm gonna help you, ok?"

"Alright."

I began to roll the bed into the hospital. Dirty looks were shot from every angle. My patient was also spit at. I sighed, controling myself. I was almost to my hospital room. It was isolated from some of the other, more wounded soldiers. This was a good thing.

We arrived. I quickly placed him on antibiotics and medication to ease his pain.

"Why?" He spoke after a few hours of operation and recovery.

I sat on the edge of his bed, confused, "'Why' what?"

"Why did you save me?" As he spoke, I noticed more of his accent.

"Why would I not?"

"I am your enemy."

"It doesn't stop me from saving lives. I have no boundaries."

He chuckled, "You do know that my life is and was not worth saving?" He then sat up to see me clearly. His dark eyes looked deeply into mine, "I'm Rasheed by the way." He held out his hand for me to shake.

I shook his hand, "Kai," I let go of him, "So, why do you think that you're life isn't worth saving?"

"It isn't. I will be put to death once I leave here."

I sighed. I had forgotten about the consequences.

"I am also not accepted by this country." He reffered to when he entered the hospital.

"It doesn't matter. You're alive and our country doesn't automatically put you to death. There are camps for prisoners of war. You are a patient."

"I am a prisoner."

"They can't take you until you are fully able to be taken."

Rasheed spoke with pride, "Like I said before, my life is not worth saving. You should have let me die. In my country, death is first before defeat."

"You are not defeated and please, do not kill yourself. I risked alot to save you." I stood up from his bed and began to leave.

"Wait."

I stopped at the doorway, not facing him, "Yes?"

"Thank you."

I then walked away without responding.

The dirty looks continued. I heard mumbling, "I'm surprised he didn't kill her," one said.

Another stated, "I bet he threatened her to save his life."

"She's an idiot."

I could stand no more. My control was out of reach by this point, "Quiet!"

The hospital was then completely silent. The only noises that were heard were the beeps from every room.

"What is wrong with saving a life? Isn't that what we do?" I hollared, "Every life is worth saving! If you do not believe that, then why are you all here? I suggest you keep your immature thoughts to yourselves!"

Everyone went back to work. There was a clapping from behind one of the desks.

I turned to see that it was Erik, "What?"

"Bravo."

"Shut the hell up."

He snikered then turned and walked away.

THREE MONTHS LATER:

My patient had not recovered. Rasheed had actually gotten worse. I tried my best to save him. Now all I can do is just wait until he is healthy.

Thoughts of Shane linger in my head. I had also not let go of the notes I carried with me everywhere everyday. He has also kept in touch at the times he was able to. Unfortunately, he hasn't talked to me in a month.

I lied on the couch as I flipped through the channels. I just kept it at the news station, but placed it on mute. My eyes stared up at the ceiling, thinking about work, Shane, the war, Rasheed, and how they all connect.

My thoughts scrambbled as I heard a loud knock on the door. It startled me. I rapidly removed myself from the couch and headed towards the door. When I opened it, my heart beat sped and I was unable to control my breathing. Two men in uniform stood at the door, carrying Shane. He could not have been dead, but he didn't look to be injured.

"He is unconcious." The man carrying him spoke.

"Why isn't he in a hospital?" I opened the door wider to let them him, "Bring him down to the basement."

The men didn't respond, but quickly found the door to the basement and moved down into it. How did they know where it was? My questions were going to have to be ignored.

I followed the men into the basement. They lyed him on the cold contrete floor. I knelt beside him and felt his forehead, taking my stethiscope to feel his heart rate. The pounding in my head made it harder for me to tell how his heart was beating. There was beating, but it wasn't his heart. I took off my stethiscope and threw it, "What happend?!" I screamed.

The men didn't respond.

I stood up and faced them, "What happend?"

Their posture was completely solid and they were not phased by anything. They did not speak. One of the men grabbed my wrists. I fell because he pushed down his finger on a pressure point. The other held my neck, "We didn't do anything, but we helped." He smirked and then pushed me to the ground. They both walked back up the steps and left.

My body could not move just yet. I was paralized for a good moment. I tried to breathe. I couldn't feel any emotions to cry. My head spun. I had never felt so helpless.

Once I was able to move, I lifted my upper body off of the ground. I turned to see Shane, "Please. Wake up." I tried, no matter how much I knew that it would not work.

Shane then jolted up. His breathing was deep as if he was recovering from an athsma attack.

"Shane!" I was shocked.

He continued to gain back his breath. Once his breathing started to return to normal, he spoke, "Kai."

"What happend?"

"I...was captured...then...I pretended to...have died."

"Pretended?" I asked, puzzled, "Shane, you did die. I checked."

He shook his head, "No, I heard every word. Im sorry that I couldn't...have helped. If I revived...then I wouldn't have had time to...catch my breath and then they would...have killed me for sure. I can control my heart rate, Kai."

I then remembered when we were walking home the day he told me that he was going to war. When I held my head into his chest, his heart was completely steady, even with the flow of emotions running through him. I hugged him, "You're alive." Tears formed then fell, "You're safe and here."

I felt his head shake and then he gently pulled away from my hug, "I'm not done with my mission. Also, the guys who brough me here are not who you think they are."

"But then who were they?"

"My target's gaurds." Shane then began to pull back onto the floor.

I rested my hand on his cheek, holding back the rest of my tears, "Why do you have to go back?"

He laughed, "Kai, I'm not done yet. There are only two ways I can be done."

He didn't explain because I knew what he meant. "Okay."

We both sat in the basement and rested beside each other.

I woke up on the couch once again. I looked around for Shane, but he was nowhere. He had already left. More pain sank in. I hoped that he would not return home the same way he did or worse. I did not want to think about it.

ONE WEEK LATER:

I woke up to a bright sunny day. The only thing that didn't feel perfect was that Shane was not with me. My mood, however, was different. My worries and stress were not felt. I didn't even wonder why.

Rasheed was recovering better and Shane has been talking to me everyday. My co-workers respect me more and talk about how lucky I am to have Shane. It didn't even bother me that they were talking about it. It actually kept my spirits up.

Erik hasn't been talking to me ever since I yelled throughout the hospital. His disgusted look would appear everytime the nurses said Shane's name. There was no reason why.

As I walked in the hall, on my way to Rasheed's room, Erik pulled me aside into an unoccupied room.

"I have a patient to attend to." I said in fustration.

"You've changed."

I looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"

He grinned sarcasticly, "Ever since you've been with Shane, you haven't been yourself."

"I've been fine."

"No."

"I'm not understanding what you're trying to get through to me. And I really have to go." I attempted to leave, but he held onto my arm.

He didn't speak.

"Let me go."

Erik gently let go, staring down at me.

I then stormed out of the room, trying to avoid any other attempts to keep me away from my job.

Once I got to Rasheed's room, he began to hollar in pain. I rushed to see what was wrong. I took every VP bag that was up and replaced them. This time, I had to give him blood. He started to breathe better, holding in the pain that was receiding. It must have been one of the bags of medication. I checked them and one didn't look right. "Who came into your room?"

He tried to speak, "A tall man. Long limbs. Muscular. Brown, combed back hair."

I sighed. He completely described Erik. "I'll be right back. If anyone comes in here, tell them to leave. If they ask why, tell them because I said so."

He nodded.

I grabbed the bag and rushed down the hall. Erik was still in the empty room. I walked in and rapidly slammed the door, "What the hell is this?"

He didn't speak, but his eyes screamed guilt.

"This is acid, Erik! You tried to kill my patient!" I threw the bag to his feet. "The day you drink it all is the day you may kill him." After opening the door, I hurried back to Rasheed's room.

He was fine now, but he was uncomfortable, "I will leave as soon as I can. I am a burden among this hospital."

"You are not a burden," I said, "No one here is and no one will ever be."

He sighed and looked down to his sheets.

"I'm gonna stay in here until you are healthy."

Rasheed looked up, "No, there are other patients who need help."

I smiled, "There are enough nurses here to take care of them."

He looked back down to his sheets. I wondered what he was thinking, but the silence was alright.

I sat in a chair in the left corner across from his bed. Then I took the remote and turned on the television that faced Rasheed directly across from his bed. Even though I turned it on, I was only able to see half of the screen, "Is there anything you want to watch?" I threw him the remote.

He caught it, "Is there anything _you_ want to watch?"

I shook my head, "Anything is better than the silence."

"Okay." He sat down the remote beside him, leaving on the news.

I listened:

'Today, we remember the loss of over 300,000 Yulaisan soldiers since this all began. Ten thousand in just the past two weeks. We have sources who say that this war will end soon and will be a Yulaisan victory--'

Rasheed turned off the television and sat in silence.

I sighed then looked at him. He looked highly upset.

After a few moments, he spoke, "How do I become a citizen?"

"Of Yulaisa?" I was shocked that he would ask that, "You have to know the language and the country's history. You will also have to have a background check. If you pass, then you may become a citizen."

Rasheed stressfully placed his hands over his face. Then they rubbed up to his black hair and brushed it back. His dark eyes flickered to me, "So if I try to become a citizen, I will fail."

I shook my head, "No."

"Yes. The background check."

He had a good point. I didn't know how to argue otherwise. "Be optimistic."

Rasheed shook his head. He apparently was not much of an optimistic person in his position.

We both then sat in silence. At night, just a few hours after I was supposed to have left, I felt a sickening feeling. Something didn't seem right. I looked at Rasheed. He was fast asleep. I got up from the chair and walked to his bed and released him from the bags. He was done, all he needed now was rest.

I then walked to the door. I opened it and looked outside. It was normal, but something seemed out of place. I closed the door and walked back to the chair.

My phone then rang and I quickly picked up, "Hello?'

"Yes, is this Kai?"

"Yes? Is there anything I can do for you?" The voice disturbed me. At the corner of my eye, I noticed Rasheed awaking.

"It is about Shane."

I took a deep breath, then exhaled, "What's wrong?"

"He has been captured by the LaTaku government. The Yulaisan government has given us orders to not rescue him."

I held my face in my free hand, "And why not?"

"It is too much of a risk and the funds cannot afford another operation."

"You're telling me that the people who made him leave, who put him in this position, will offer him no help?"

"I'm afraid so. I am terribly sorry."

I hung up my phone. Anymore words and then I would have screamed. It hurt to know that no one wants to help anymore. I held my head down to hide my face from Rasheed.

He had already wondered though, "What is it?"

"My fiancee' was captured."

Rasheed sat up and patted the bed for me to sit, "By who?"

I lifted from my chair and made my way towards his bed. Once I sat, I spoke, "The LaTaku government."

He sighed heavily.

This bothered me, "What?"

"He is in a worse position than if he was caught by the army."

I turned my head away from him and towards the window. I bit down on my bottom lip to hold back the tears. After thinking for a moment, I came to a conclusion, "I'm gonna go save him." I said lightly.

Rasheed was completely surprised by my words, "You will not survive."

My head then turned back to look at him, "I have made my decision."

"Then you will not do it alone."

I knew what he meant, "No, you will stay here. You're in no position to come with me."

"I will help you."

"No. You can't even stand. Please, you need to stay here." I stood, ready to go back to the chair.

Rasheed lifted his sheets and removed his legs from them. He let his feet dangle then he pushed off of the bed to touch the floor. He used the edge of the bed for support and then slowly removed his hands. "I can stand and I will come and I will help you."

"Walk."

He slightly lifted one leg and placed it forward. He did the same with the other. Rasheed was very close and looked down at me, "I can walk."

I folded my arms, "You still are not able to handle this. Please rest."

"Not until you allow me to join you."

I shook my head, "No."

"You told me to be optimistic. Why can't you do the same?" He lifted my chin, "Please, I can help you. It's the least I can do."

The moment reminded me of Shane. His words and also his hand that lifted my chin. It was too much like Shane. I gently grabbed Rasheed's wrist and pushed it away from me. Then I looked back down.

"I cant see your face?" He placed his hands on the sides of my cheeks and lifted my head.

I could clearly see his thick eyelashes that complimented the rest of his dark features. It now didn't remind me of Shane, but of a consequence if I continued to let him touch me so lovingly. "Fine."

Erik began to walk past the room, but then stopped when he saw Rasheed and I. He opened the door and barged in, "Kai, what would Shane say?"

Rasheed dropped his hands and I stood infront of him to protect him from any hit Erik might throw at him.

"I am dissapointed in you."

"I honestly don't care what you think," I said, "Nothing is going on."

"Oh really," He glanced at Rasheed, "Then what was that?"

"None of your business," Rasheed stated.

Erik was angered, "She is my business."

I was completely insulted by that. I slapped him, "I am not _any_ part of your business." I grabbed Rasheed's hand and pushed Erik as I walked to the door, "I'm leaving. Don't expect me to be at work any time soon."

He didn't speak. Erik held his hand on his face to where I had hit him.

I left the room and headed towards one of the glass double doors of the hospital. Any dirty looks were completely ignored. I had no care for it no longer. I was not going to be here for awhile anyway. If they had any comments, I would not have cared to have heard them. There were none though.

We had finally gotten to my door. I unlocked it and pulled Rasheed inside. He was right. He was not out of breath, but he looked tired. He needed rest. Rasheed was too afraid to completely sleep at the hospital. He took little naps whenever he felt he could. Which was mostly when I was there.

I had let go of his hand by now. He looked around the living room while still standing in one place.

"You will sleep in my room." I began to walk to the bedroom.

He followed, "Are you sure?"

I grinned, "Yes." I then opened the door. The bed was perfectly made.

"What are we going to do tomorrow though?" He looked down to me after he had walked in.

"I'll think about it when the time comes."

He smiled, "Alright. Thank you."

I nodded and gently closed the door. Then I made my way towards the couch. Once I lied down, I quickly fell asleep.

I woke up to the morning light. In the chair across from me was a figure. Once my eyes adjusted, I noticed that it was Rasheed wearing Shane's clothes. He was facing the television with the remote in his hand.

He looked at me and smiled, "I hope he does not mind. The hospital clothes were a little annoying."

"He would understand." I smiled back, rubbing my eyes.

"Good morning by the way."

I chuckled, "Thanks. Good morning to you too." I pushed myself up, yawned, then sat. On the television was the news. Yesterday it had bothered Rasheed, but his eyes sparkled this time. I glanced from the television to him, "What is it?"

"The LaTaku government."

"What about it?"

"I think I have an idea of how to take it down."

"Kill the president."

He nodded, "Yes, but you also need to know how to do so."

"Oh."

Rasheed now turned his head from the t.v. to face me, "Do you know how to shoot?'

"A little." I answered honestly. Shane had taught me to shoot, but it's been awhile since then.

"Good."

I stood up to go to the bedroom to clean up and get changed. After my shower, I changed into a long shirt that could pass for a dress. One side had a short sleeve, while the other was a strap. I wore small shorts under it, but it could not be seen. There was also a belt that wrapped around my waist and a small cape that flowed behind it. Last were my brown boots that came up to mid-shin.

Once I was done getting changed, I walked to my dresser for one of my guns. When I opened it, it was not there. Shane must have taken it or maybe even one of the men who brought him here. The thought burned me inside. The men had no right to go through my things. I sighed, then went to the bed. Then I knelt down to the floor to see under the bed. The box was still there. I grabbed it and pulled it towards me. When I opened it, the two guns were still there. Silver, small, and perfect. I lifted the first layer to reveal a bottom layer where two more were hiding under the first.. These were black and heavier. They were going to be for Rasheed.

After placing the two silver guns in my shorts, I grabbed the other two guns and left the room, locking the door behind me. "Here." I said once I got to the living room.

Rasheed quickly stood up and walked over to me. I held out the guns and he grabbed them. He studied them then placed them away in the back of his pants. Noticing that the television was still on, he walked over to where he left the remote and turned it off.

I stood there waiting.

When he got back to me, facing me, he asked me a question, "You do have a car right?"

"Yes and I already know where we're going to go first." I looked down. In the back of my mind, I felt crazy, but my main thoughts were that I was doing the right thing. Thankfully, I was not alone in this.

"You really don't think like an optimistic person." He smiled as he pushed my chin up.

"You really don't understand." I said, closing my eyes tightly to reduce the water coming to them.

Rasheed moved closer to wrap his arms around me, "I think I do."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, just barely reaching. It's been awhile since I've had a real hug. Not even when Shane was here the last time. When we pulled back, we still hadn't let go. It felt as if time had stopped just for us. It has been a long time since I've felt like this. Our eyes closed and our lips moved closer. With my hands around his neck, I messed with the ring on my finger. When I realized that it was my engagement ring, I stopped moving closer to Rasheed. We did not kiss and I didn't know how to feel about that.

I quickly pulled my arms away from him, but stayed close to him, "Sorry."

"No, it's fine." He looked down to my hands and saw that I was messing with the ring. Rasheed understood why I pulled back. He then grabbed my hand and kissed it.

I smiled, "Better."

He grinned in reply. Then he turned around for the door. He walked out and I followed after taking the keys off of the table. I locked the door and then followed Rasheed to the garage. When I opened it, his jaw dropped in amazement, "Wow."

I laughed, "It's nice."

"Have you ever even driven this?"

"Only when I have long distances to drive." I pressed the button to unlock the car and got into the driver's seat.

Rasheed didn't hesitate to get into the passenger's seat. He looked around the car, "It's an Audi. Two door, leather seats. Wow!"

I grinned, "Yeah." Then I placed the key into the ignition. It roared to life.

Rasheed chuckled, "Awesome!"

After rolling it out of the garage, I pressed the button to close it. Once it was completely closed, I sped out of the driveway and headed towards the president's mansion.

The trip didn't take long. The country is large, but I lived close to the president. We only took one break out of the one hundred miles driven. I had even let Rasheed drive after we had our break. He didn't hesitate to speed whenever he could. It made us get there faster though.

I was not able to go straight up to the door without having to go through security. "You may not go past this point." One held up his hand to block me from moving closer to the building.

"I need to talk to the President. It's urgent."

"What could possibly be so--"

"It's about Shane Mizuki." I cut him off. I did not want him to finish his sentence.

As soon as he heard the name, he spoke into his earpiece, "Mister President, someone is here to speak about Shane Mizuki." He nodded, "Okay, sir." He then looked down to me, "Only you may go in," He looked at Rasheed, "He cannot."

I sighed then looked to Rasheed.

He simply nodded. It was hard to leave him. They might hurt him, seeing that he looked like an enemy. Hopefully he would play it cool.

After looking at Rasheed one last time to make sure, I walked inside. A metal detector waited for me. Without hesitating, I took out both of my guns and placed them in the bucket. Then I walked through the machine with no problems.

The president looked at me with wide eyes. He must not have expected me to have guns with me. A cold glass of whiskey was held in his hand. It was only a little past noon. Slowly, I walked to him, watching the security gaurds around the room. I also studied the president. His eyes were no longer on me, but outside to where Rasheed was left to wait.

I sat infront of him, waiting to notice.

"I have informed you that there is nothing that can be done." He said, not looking at me.

"_You_ were not the one to have informed me. Someone else did. I came to have it confirmed." I corrected him.

He nodded his head and took a sip of whiskey, "It is true. I can do nothing for him."

"What about for me?"

The president lifted a brow and looked at me, "For you?"

I nodded, "Yes. For me and my friend."

He looked back outside to Rasheed. Rasheed had his arms crossed looking at the men with much aggression. "What do you want me to do for you both?"

"Plane tickets."

The president then turned completely to see me, "Plane tickets?" He asked as if I was joking.

"Or any quick transportation to LaTaku as soon as possible."

"For what?" He slammed the glass to the table.

I smiled, "We plan on doing what you have failed to do: Kill the LaTaku president and bring Shane back."

He paused then rapidly stood up from his chair, "You blame _me_ for all of this?"

"Not all of it. Just everything you have the power to do. Please Mr. President, all I need is a way there. We will take care of the rest."

The president took a moment to think it over, "Here's the deal: I will have one of the jets bring you both there. If you succeed, as you seem to think, I will grant you transportation back. However, if you are captured, I will not send help. I will also have you never to step foot on this soil ever again."

His deal didn't seem fair. All I wanted was a way there, but I accepted, "Alright."

He grabbed his whiskey and chugged it. It could easily be seen that he was under a great deal of stress. He then turned to one of the gaurds and pointed towards the door. The gaurd nodded and walked to it, talking to the gaurds outside. Rasheed was then moved into the room. He looked at me. His expression ask if I had succeeded in getting transportation. I nodded. He smiled then walked through the metal detector. It beeped, but the gaurds let it slide.

The president began to walk to a different hallway, "Follow me."

I walked to the entrance to get my guns. Then I walked with Rasheed behind the president.

The hallway was long. There were windows on each side of the hall. They showed beautiful trees and landscapping. At the end of the hall, we followed the president to the right, then another left that was a stairway. It went to the second floor. The hallway was once again, long. But we didn't have to walk it. Right across from the steps we came, were steps to the roof.

Once we had gotten to the roof, there were two jets. He walked us to the closest one. He stopped and then called for his pilot.

The pilot only took a minute to arrive, "Yes, sir?"

"Kahn, bring these two to LaTaku."

Kahn's eyes widened, "LaTaku?" He asked us, "But it's wartorn."

The president spoke, "They know."

"You sure?" Kahn looked at us.

Rasheed and I both nodded.

He then turned to the president and saluted, "Yes, Mr. President."

The president nodded once then faced us, "Good luck." He took a cigar from the pocket in his jacket and lit it. He did not go inside with it, but he wanted to wait until we left.

Kahn opened up the plane and we all walked in. He did not want to go to LaTaku. No one did and no one would blame him. Not even I have seen what our country looked like just ten miles from home. Rasheed and I drove the opposite way of it. The sky isn't even safe. Nowhere is. Unfortunately, I now understood why the president sent no help to Shane and the two other men.

We lifted off of the ground, levitated, then flew off of the roof. As we moved, Rasheed and I looked out of the windows to see the battlefields that would be coming to view. I leaned on my right arm while looking. There was nothing more than country, what Rasheed and I drove through. Then there were trees. Then the suburbs where we left from. Soon, the city came into view. I sat up in my seat to get a better look. Buildings were heavily damaged. Some soldiers lie dead and some lie badly injured. I could feel my heart. How much I wanted to help. How much I wanted to stop all of it.

Rasheed saw me and walked over. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head, "Don't worry, I know that we will end this."

I held his hand as I stared down at the flames, "I hope so."

He let go and sat in the seat in front of me. Rasheed looked at my face while I looked down. The battlefield was long and devistating. I was able to not cry though. In the back of my mind I knew that no matter how much I cried, it would not help the situation.

There was a sudden jerk on the plane that made me fall out of my seat.

"We're being fired at!" Kahn yelled.

Rasheed grabbed my waist to help me stand back up and place me back into my seat. We both then put on our seatbelts.

"I wanna help." I said to Rasheed.

"We can't."

The plane took a sharp turn. It whipped us to the right side of the jet. Kahn fired missiles at the enemy. We then went into a nose dive. Rasheed held onto the cargo cabinet above him. I closed my eyes and held onto the head rest on my seat.

The jet then went back up and continued to fly normally.

"Got'em!" Kahn yelled.

I sighed in relief. Never in my life have I felt completely shaken. I had let go of my seat, but didn't open my eyes. They were still tightly closed as if it were permanent.

"Kai, you can open your eyes now." Rasheed laughed.

Slowly, I began to open my eyes. The first thing I saw was Rasheed's grinning face, "I don't know what was funny about that."

He continued to smile, but his straight, white, perfect teeth now refused to show.

I sighed, then looked back out the window. The wreckage continued for miles and miles on end. Tanks were destroyed. Buildings were ready to collapse. Planes that dropped from the sky. Soldiers wandered clueless as to where they were going. Everything couldn't have been worse. It made me wonder what LaTaku looked like.

After about three hundred miles, we finally made it to the Garzon River. It was the widest in the world and was also the border line between Yulasia and LaTaku. It made me wonder about Rasheed and how he made it to Yulaisa. I looked from the window to him. He leaned on his hand, sleeping. I shook my head, ignoring the questions I wanted to ask him.

"We're at the border, aren't we?" Rasheed spoke with his eyes still closed.

I gulpped. He had startled me, "Yes, we are."

A small smile then formed. He looked as if he was cured after being homesick.

"How did you know?" I asked curiously.

He opened his eyes to look at me, "I was on a plane going at this exact speed. I calculated the time from the river to were I was injured," He sighed, "If only I knew how I had gotten to the hospital."

I glanced back out of the window. It was almost two back in our part of Yulaisa. Now it was five hours later. As I looked, the country looked ten times as worse as Yulaisa was. The explosions coninued and innocent people scrambbled to find help and shelter. I sighed. A part of me wanted to help the people here more than my other patients.

"I'm not going to be able to land," Kahn yelled, "The parachutes are in the back!"

"You've got to be kidding me." I mumbled to myself.

Rahseed chuckled then lifted from his seat to go get the parachutes. When he came back, he smiled, "It's going to be fine." He then yelled back to Kahn, "We'll leave in about two minutes!"

My eyes widened, "Two minutes? Why can't we land?"

Rasheed placed the parachute on his back, "All the airports are destroyed.

"What about fields?"

"Patrolled."

"What about us?" I said. My voice was becoming weak. Fear ran thorugh me.

"Dead if you don't follow my lead."

I placed on my parachute and closed my eyes to calm. Every emotion I had needed to be placed to the side, "Alright," I opened my eyes, "I'm ready."

Rasheed noticed my intense look. He smirked then walked to the door of the plane.

Kahn placed the jet on a temporary auto-pilot and then stood by the door, "Good luck."

"Thank you. For helping us." I said.

"No problem."

Rasheed looked at me and held out his hand, "You ready?"

"Yeah." I grabbed his hand.

Kahn pressed a button to open up the door. Rasheed jumped out, giving me no choice but to follow.

I lied on the ground. Knowing that I was alive and safely on the ground made me not want to move. How I wanted so badly to just enjoy the feeling of safety one last time before doing some other crazy task. I didn't know where Rasheed was, but I knew that he was somewhere not far from me and safe. The field of grass was completely peaceful to me. I stared up at the sky, watching the clouds. It's been so long since doing so. Enjoying the soft breeze, watching the clouds, and feeling nothing but content.

Soon, I had to come to reality. I heard shuffling in the bushes. Quickly, I sat up, grabbed one of my guns from my shorts and held it up towards the sound.

Rasheed walked out, holding his hands up, "It's me."

I held my gun down, "Sorry."

"It's fine." He began to help me get up.

I took off the backpack that once held the parachute and looked towards the smoke.

Rasheed stood close beside me, "Don't move."

I did just as what he told without asking why. The tone in his voice frightened me.

He reached for his guns from the back of his pants and held it up at a nearby tree. Rasheed fired and a large, dark figure dropped down from the tree.

I still didn't move.

"That was it." He smiled.

I simply nodded without blinking.

Rasheed placed back both guns and then held his arm around my shoulders. We both began to walk. "You see that?" He pointed at a large building that seemed to have been outlined by gold.

"Yes."

"That is where the president is."

It was possible. It was one of the few buildings not in smoke. It was also farther from the other buildings. I could barely see it. _How would we be able to get there in one piece?_ I thought.

Rasheed knew his way around more than I do, of course. He strided with long steps as if he had counted the paces before. He made me do the same, "Less noise. More distance," He said. Then there was a sudden movement in the grass. Rasheed stopped abruptly and looked around. Still standing in front of me, I could see that he found what was there. Rasheed swiftly turned and pushed me. Half-way down to the ground, I saw it. A bullet so close to me that I heard the sound of it. As soon as I had hit the ground, Rasheed fired to where the shot had come from. A man's yell was heard. "We have to run." Rasheed held out his hand for me.

After taking his hand and standing back up, I followed him. I was learning more about Rasheed every minute of being here. His skills were extrordinary and his accuracy was perfect. I hoped that when it came to me, I would be atleast a bit helpful.

"Get out your gun." He said, "There are more men ahead."

I nodded and grabbed both of my guns from my shorts. They were already loaded, but even if they weren't, I didn't take any ammo with me.

"When I say 'now' we will both split," Rasheed began to explain as he walked beside me, ducking from the top of the grass, "You fire at anyone you see. Then you meet me at the end of this field. Okay?"

"Okay."

We walked a little further. Once we were close enough, Rasheed spoke, "Now."

He ran the left while I went to the right. I held up my guns at the people who revealed themselves from the cover of the grass. One by one, I shot them. Inside, I was deeply surprised at myself. On the outside, my expression looked as if it was not my first time killing. My pace didn't even slow. I continued to run until I was at the end of the field. However, I noticed that there were towers a quarter of a mile ahead of me, so I still stood in the cover of the grassfield.

Rasheed then made his way over to me, "Good, you're alright."

"Why wouldn't I be?" I smiled.

He grinned and then looked to the towers, "I realized that there are two in each tower," Rasheed began to explain. I noticed that there was a plan he was ready to reveal, "We will both have a tower. Shoot both men inside as quick as possible so they wont call for help. Now, we can either run up to them or shoot from here. If we choose to leave, you can't get caught. If we choose to shoot from here, your aim as to be precise."

I sighed. There was no option that was better than the other. Then I had an idea, "What if we walked up to the towers normally? Like the soldiers."

He took a moment to think about it. Then Rasheed spoke, "That just might work. Lets try it. But first you have to pull back your hair."

Easy enough. I grabbed a bow and pulled my hair into a ponytail.

"Now they would think you're a guy with long hair and in a dress from far away." He smiled.

I looked at him, not sharing his joke, "Ha."

"Alright, lets just hope that they don't study you that much," He then stopped, "Wait. I have an idea."

The different tone in his voice had me worried. I looked at him with curious eyes.

"Take your hair out."

I was now confused, "What? Why?"

"You will be my prisoner."

It made sense. I took out my hair and let it fall just past my shoulders.

"Ready?"

"I guess."

He rapidly grabbed my wrists and pulled me up by them. Then he pushed me out from the tall grass that shielded us.

His aggression felt so powerful that I thought it was real. It had me worry for a moment, "You didn't have to do that. " I scolded.

"It was only to make it look more real. Especially you arguing with me about it."

His grip was tight. There were going to be marks left after it. "It hurts."

"I know. Im sorry." He loosened his grip a little, but it was still painful.

I wasn't sure if he knew his own strength. He then pushed me again. It felt like he was taking it too seriously, "Will you stop!"

"They were watching."

I sighed, "So what?" My anger was becoming more and more obvious. I gritted my teeth to be sure that I wouldn't yell so loud and to try to ignore the pain in my wrists.

We got to one of the towers. My arms were pulled up so I wouldn't move. We both waited for the door to open and show one of the gaurds. It finally opened and he began to speak a different language that I could not understand.

Rasheed replied in the same language.

The gaurd then took me into the building, leaving Rasheed back outside. Before the door closed, I looked at Rasheed with wide eyes. He simply winked and then ran to the neighboring tower.

I was dragged up the steps by one of my arms. With my free hand, I grabbed one of my guns. As the other gaurd came into sight, I shot at him. The gaurd who held onto my wrist then turned to see that it was me with the gun. He hesistated. There was nothing he could do. I thought that I had a smirk on my face when I shot him. It was not like me to have done such a thing. I save lives, not take them away.

As I looked around the room, I looked out of the window to where the city was. The building outlined with gold was where we needed to go, but it was farther than anything. I didn't know how I wasn't going to be caught.

My thoughts ended when I heard someone coming up the steps. I couldn't see who it was in the dark, but they were wearing the gaurd's uniforms. I hoped that he was not one of the gaurds from the other side. It meant that Rasheed was gone. He continued to walk closer, then he pounced on me. My gun flew out of my hand as my wrists were grabbed and I fell to the floor. The weight of the gaurd prevented me from fully breathing.

"Rawr!"

I calmed when I noticed that it was Rasheed's voice.

"Scare you? You didn't scream like I expected you to, so that's good."

"Rasheed, yes you scared me! You didn't have to do that either." I wasn't angry. In a way, I wanted to laugh. I knew he did too, which was why he attacked me.

He rolled over to lay beside me, "Sorry about that and sorry about your wrists."

I shook my head, "Don't be sorry. Im fine." I began to push myself up from the floor. As I did, I felt the back of my head where I hit the ground. It wasn't bleeding, but it hurt. "I don't think you know your own strength."

His smile faded and he looked away from me to the ceiling, "I guess not."

I stood up and held my hand out for him.

Rasheed grabbed my hand. He jumped up off the floor then landed inches from me, "You gotta get changed."

My eyes looked from him to one of the gaurds on the ground. I looked back at Rasheed, "You're gonna have to turn around."

He chuckled then turned around to look out of the window.

I knelt down to the gaurd and began to take off his uniform. I placed the baggy pants over my shorts. "You can look now." I was buttoning up the heavy shirt.

Rasheed turned around, "I didn't even have to turn around in the first place."

"How do you know?" I raised a brow.

He began to blush, "The reflection in the window."

After a sigh, I smacked him, "Don't do that."

The slap didn't phase him. If anything, I think he blushed even more.

I shook my head and walked towards the steps, "You're a trip."

Rasheed laughed, "And you like it."

Before walking any further, I stopped at the edge of the steps and turned to him, "Excuse me?' I tried not to grin, but it wasn't working.

He picked up my gun off of the floor and walked closer, "Don't deny it."

"Okay. Fine. Yes, I like it." I laughed.

Rasheed handed me the gun as he continued to blush.

I grabbed the gun and placed it in the back of my pants. I was glad that there was a belt that came with the pants. When I looked back to Rasheed, I spoke, "You like to blush."

"On occassions."

"Okay." I turned around and began to walk down the steps. I grabbed the hat that was on the gaurd as I walked down and placed it on my head. "Oh, do I need to put my hair up?"

"Yes you do."

I placed my hair in a ponytail, then hid it under the hat. Once at the end of the steps and outside, I turned to him, "Is this okay?"

"I will be honest," He grinned, "You still look too pretty."

I smiled, "It's all I got though."

"We'll see how it works." He stood beside me and we began walking between the two towers to the entrance of the city. He began to talk in the same language as before. Rasheed was just doing so so he wouldn't seem so suspicious.

I was not able to answer. He knew that, so he must have been telling me a story. I wanted to know what he was saying, but I couldn't. We just both continued to walk through the town in dark red uniforms.

It was almost completely dark. In just about ten minutes of walking into town, I whispered to him, "Where can we go?"

"My home."

After a few more blocks, we made it to a different part of town. This looked to be upper class. The ocean was right behind each home. We stopped at the thrid building and walked up to it. With his hand on the knob, he tried to see if it was open. The door opened with ease and he stepped inside. I followed, closing the door behind me.

He turned on the light and I was able to see everything. His couch was red with gold seams. The rug on the floor that covered the wood was also red and had gold tassels around it. In the upper right corner of the room was a large television.

He continued to walk into the kitchen and dining room. There was a large wooden rectanguluar table in the center of the dining room. The eight chairs that surrounded it each had smooth carvings in the back of them. Stepping into the kitchen, it was smaller compared to everything else, but still large.

Rasheed then turned a nintey degree angle to the stairs. We both walked up them and ended up in a hallway. Down on each end of the hall were bathrooms. Across from the stairs was his room. He walked in and invited me to come and see. The wallpaper was yellowish-gold with small designs of plants on it. Across was his king sized bed with white cloth that hung over it and flew in the breeze. A breeze that was coming from outside. He smiled when he noticed my expression and walked over to two open balcony doors. There was the view of the ocean.

"Wow," I finally said, "This is your home?" I leaned my arms on the railing as I stared at the ocean.

Rasheed also leaned on the railing right beside me, "Yep."

"How?" I smiled. I wanted to know his secret. I would love to live in such a place as this.

He sighed and turned, now having his back lean on the railing.

I looked at him puzzled, "What?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Then try to." I turned parallel with him.

His arms folded, "My father is wealthy," Rasheed took a deep breath and exhaled, "He's the president."

Shocked, I didn't know how to respond. It was no wonder how he knew where his father was. How he knew about the people in the field. And how his skills were better than what I had ever witnessed. A long silence followed, but a question came to my head, "You want him _dead_?"

"The fat bastard has never really taken good care of me, other than the money," He chuckled, "I wanted so badly for him to be the first one I would ever kill."

I felt sympathy for him. It seemed that everyone has felt that way about someone. As I thought about it, it came to me, "If he died, you would be in power?"

Rasheed shook his head, "No, my older brother, Kameke', would."

"Oh."

He began to walk back inside, "Anyway, are you hungry?"

"Yes." I responded quickly. I thought he would never ask. My stomach has been empty for almost a day. The events prevented me from noticing until Rasheed asked. When he did, my stomach trembled, desperate for food. I followed him to his room, then back down stairs to the kitchen.

He was searching the cabinets for anything that didn't go bad. He found a box of pasta and a can of sauce. Rasheed held both in each hand and turned to me smiling, "Is this alright?"

I nodded, "Perfect."

Once he finished cooking, Rasheed placed both bowls on a tray and held onto it, "Umm, where would you want to eat?"

"Anywhere is just fine." My mind wasn't really caring about where to eat. I just wanted to eat. I could eat standing out in the middle of the road.

He brought the tray into the dining room and placed down both bowls. I quickly followed a bowl. My mouth was watering. Rasheed went back into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of champaigne and two glasses for it. He laughed as he saw that I had already stuffed a forkfull of pasta in my mouth. "Glad that this is better when older." He opened the bottle and poured both of our glasses. Rasheed placed down the bottle, sat, then held up his glass, "For success."

I grabbed my glass for cheers. Then I took a sip after swallowing my food.

Rasheed took his time eating. He hadn't had a decent meal in months, from what I know. The hospital food isn't the best. It surprised me that he was able to do so. He honestly didn't look like someone to have such control. It could have been because I was there.

I continued to drink until he was done. I wasn't sure if it would be right if I had just walked away in his own home.

When he was done, he took both of our empty dishes and placed them in the sink. Rasheed then walked upstairs without inviting me to come follow him. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to, but I walked up behind him anyhow. "You can sleep in here. I'll sleep on the couch." He said as he walked into his room.

I shook my head, "No, I'll sleep on the couch." I began to take off the uniform at his doorway. I forgot I had the gun in the back of the pants and it landed on the floor with a thud. I grabbed it and placed it in my shorts. Then next was the large heavy shirt. I placed it beside the pants in the hallway and then walked in. The gun was unusually uncomfortable, so I took it out and put it down on a table in his room.

"I will not let you do that. When you invited me into your home, I made you sleep on the couch."

"So? I don't care. Your couch looks comfy anyway." I smiled.

Rasheed chuckled, "I still don't want you to do that. Sleep in my bed. I will sleep dowstairs."

I sat on the end of his bed, waiting for him to let me win the arguement. My head continued to shake, refusing to let him sleep on the couch.

He stood in front of me with his hands over his face. Rasheed sighed, "Do you have any other ideas then? Since we both can't decide where to sleep."

"I will sleep on the couch." I stood up.

He pushed me back down on the bed, "No, Kai, I will. You stay in here."

I grabbed his arm and pulled him down closer so I could see him better, "Don't push me." It was so hard to keep a straight face with Rasheed.

He smiled, "What? You don't like being pushed?" He gently pushed my shoulder and placed his knee between my legs.

My body bent back a little and my smile stayed on my face as did Rasheed's. Then both our smiles began to fade. He moved closer and began to kiss my neck. I let him and fell back on the bed as his hand was held behind my head. Rasheed continued to kiss my neck, then moved up to my jaw bone, then to my cheek. His other hand slowly glided its way up my leg and under my long shirt to my shorts. I could see Shane. When I did, I pushed Rasheed back off of me. As I looked into his eyes, he looked completely guilty. It was partially my fault. Never should I have led him on. "I'll sleep on the couch," I said, "Sorry." I turned my legs to the side so I could stand.

Rasheed grabbed my wrist before I walked any closer to the doorway, "I would greatly appreciate it if you let me make my own decisions in my own home. Please sleep here. It would be safer if someone tried to break in or something."

I turned around to see him and sighed, "Okay," I surrendered, "But only this once."

He smirked, "Sure." Rasheed then let go of my wrist walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Lying down onto his bed, I couldn't understand why I was becoming so attached to him. Shane wasn't around anymore and that could be the reason why. Guilt stopped me from doing anything with Rasheed. I could never look at Shane the same if I did something behind his back. Especially if it was with the man helping me save him. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it. I quickly fell asleep.

Smoke filled an empty room. I sat in a chair in the center with my wrists in chains. The chains were connected to the walls. My eyes were slowly opening, but wanted to close. I felt drunk and I could barely speak, "Rasheed," my cry for him only came out in a whipser, "Help me." Clearly, I was gasping for air so I could speak. My head continued to hang down. There was no point since I couldn't keep my eyes open. Someone lifted my chin. I blinked to try and adjust my eyes, "Shane?" It had to be him. I could see his brown hair and his beautiful blue eyes. The touch of his fingers were so gentle and light. I smiled, "Shane."

He did not smile back. He looked at me as if he was trying to evaluate my expression. What expression? I smiled, but it was because he was here. It was hard to read his expression. I couldn't tell if he was dissapointed or puzzled. "Why," he asked, "Why did you come here?"

It took every bit of strength I had to open my eyes. To speak was much more of a challenge, "For you."

Shane bent down in front of me, holding my face in his hands. He finally smiled, "Kai, you don't have to do this. You're risking your life."

"I have to," I said, still searching for oxygen, "It's what I'd do for you."

He then turned into dust, blew away, and blended in with the thickening smoke around me. My head was again held down and I began to cry. I then felt my tears being wiped away. When I looked back up, I saw no one.

My eyes slowly opened to Rasheed's room. In front of me was Rasheed who knelt down beside the bed, clearing away my tears. I didn't stop him from doing so. I held onto the pillow tightly. His uniform was no longer on him. He wore just his boxers and his dogtags, revealing his built body. "I'm sorry," he said removing his arms from the bed, "I heard you crying so I came upstairs to make sure nothing had happend."

I tried to smile, "Thank you."

"I'll let you get back to sleep." Rasheed stood up and headed towards the doorway.

I closed my eyes to try and go back to sleep.

There was no dream, but I was violently shaken awake, "Kai! Wake up! We have to leave!"

I opened my eyes and saw Rasheed dressed in his uniform and not the gaurd's uniform. There was noise outside. This part of the country was beginning to have its fair share of war damages. I pulled the sheets off of me and got up, "I'll get changed into the uniform."

"No,"he grabbed my arm and pulled me out, "Don't have time."

We both ran downstairs and ran through the house to the front door. When he opened the door, there was the LaTaku army tanks in the streets. I closed my ears as they began to fire at the Yulasian military coming closer.

Rasheed again grabbed my arm and pulled me, "Come on!" We ran down the street, opposite from where the LaTaku were facing. Once at the end of the street, we made a left. About a mile away was the building where the president was at. Rasheed found a random car off to the side of the street. He broke the window to unlock the door and got in. Under the steering wheel, Rasheed began to hotwire the car. Once it started, I got in the passenger seat and we sped off.

The building was heavily gaurded. I was now worried, "How do we get in?"

"Follow my lead and come with me." Rasheed opened the door of the car. I did the same and rushed to Rasheed's side. He wrapped his arm around me and began to walk to the surrounded building. The place was completely covered with soldiers. They all pointed their weapons at us. I squeezed my hands on his uniform. Rasheed smiled and lifted his hands and spoke in a different language. The soldiers brought down their weapons and moved away from the entrance. We both walked the path and then walked inside of the four story building.

The inside was again filled with soldiers. Rasheed had recognized one and stopped to see him. They began to speak in a different language. His friend pointed to me smiling. I rolled my eyes and looked down the hall. If only I knew what he was saying.

We again began to move. I looked at Rasheed and he moved his mouth closer to my ear and whispered, "He does speak your native tongue, but he wasn't going to. Too many witnesses, but he complimented you."

I whispered back, "I'll ask about it later. What are we going to do now?"

"Go inside to my office." We stopped at a wooden, double door with two soldiers in front of it. Rasheed again spoke. They didn't hesitate to move. When we walked in, it was large. A huge, cherrywood desk was in the middle of the room. Two large windows were on each side of the room. On the other end of the room were bookselves and stairs in the right corner that twisted up to the second floor.

Rasheed removed his arm from me and rushed to his desk. He pulled out all of the drawers and messed with paper and files. Then he opened the bottom drawer that revealed a few guns. Rasheed grabbed two and threw the third to me. One of my guns was still in my shorts, but the other was left back at his place.

"I have a gun." I reminded him.

Rasheed glanced up at me, then back down to the drawer, taking out more guns, "You're gonna need more than that one."

I looked at him confused, "Why?"

"All of those soldiers have to die." He clicked ammo into one of the guns.

"What about your friend?"

"Raul? I told him to either help or leave. He decided to stay and help. Which was why he did not move."

I took a moment to think about it. I shook my head, "This place is filled with soldiers. And we don't know how many more there are."

He ignored me, "Do you know the other hallway across from this room?"

I nodded, "Yes?"

"There are not that many soldiers in there. When those two doors open back up, run. I will take care of the rest in this hallway. Once we start, we don't stop. The soldiers outside, and upstairs will hear the gunshots and attack. Get all of them, then meet me back here. Shane could either be on the top floor in the chamber room, or in the basement. Please Kai, do not go up to the fourth floor without me. Nor the basement." Rasheed walked to me, holding onto two guns.

"I will try not to." I said honestly. It would depend on how I feel. I didn't even want to run out of the room. I closed my eyes to put away all of my emotions. I took a deep breath, then exhaled, opening my eyes.

Rasheed kissed the top of my head and walked to the doors. With his fingers on the knobs, he looked at me, "Ready?"

I grabbed my other gun from my shorts and then walked closer to the doors. I simply nodded in reply.

He swung open the doors and I ran across the hall. Behind me was rapid fire, but I had to ignore it. This hall was empty, but another hall was coming up. I turned to my right and there were soldiers running towards me. Holding up both of my guns, I began to fire. My seriousness helped my accuratcy. I began to run down the hall firing at all of the soldiers coming. At the end, they were firing. I placed myself behind a pillar that was embedded into the wall that went along with the unique architechture.

When the firing stopped for a short moment, I brought around my guns and fired. They fell to the floor. This hall was now clear. I walked farther down and turned left down a different hall. It felt to be a maze that only I did not know my way around. There was a room at the end of it. Someone then turned from the protection of the wall and fired at me. It missed and I had a chance to fire back. The man fell. He wasn't wearing a uniform though. He was in a suit.

Slowly, I walked closer to him. I stopped for a second to see if I could hear anyone else in the room. I didn't so I walked faster to him. I was right. No one was in the room. I pulled the body in with me and closed both doors. I checked the pockets of his jacket for anything. What I found was a key. I studied it and wondered where it could lead to. It must be to a room in the building somewhere because it didn't look ordinary.

At the end of the room were stairs. It was built the same as Rasheed's room except this was on a different part of the building. I got up and ran towards the stairs. Before going any further to them, I held both guns to my chest and walked slowly so I could see if anyone was up there. No one. I carefully climbed the steps to try not and make any possible sound.

The stairs came up to another room. It was a library. Anyone could easily hide behind a bookshelf. I walked closer to one and paused to try and hear anything. I thought I heard shuffling. Then I took a large step to the next row of shelves. At the corner of my eye, a figure passed me. I ran and slid down on the floor, shooting at the shelf where the figure hid behind. I heard a groan then a thud. He fell to the floor, dead, with his blooded hands around his neck. He didn't have on a uniform either. It made me wonder why.

I got up off of the floor. The two doors of the room opened and soldiers began to rush in on either sides of the shelves. I hid in an aisle and held up both of my guns to each end. I fired at each soldier. There weren't as much as the one hallway, but one of my guns ran out of ammo, "Damn." I kept it in my hand, I didn't want to drop it. Instead I kept shooting the soldiers on the one side, while I walked to the other side. There was only two more soldiers left, but I was done on the side where my gun still had ammo. One soldier stood, not shooting at me, while the one behind him was ready to fire. I took my gun and shot the first one in the head. The bullet went straight through and hit the other soldier. Both bodies dropped, but the second soldier was still alive. I took off the helmet and looked at him, "Do you know about any prisoners?"

He laughed, "You."

I got up and turned around. Angry, I didn't even bother to shoot him. I'd rather have him suffer. I walked to the double doors and noticed that at the end of the hall were another set of stairs. After taking a deep breath and exhaling, I sprinted to those steps. No gun shots were fired. I didn't even hear footsteps. I ran up the steps and stopped when I heard talking. Of course, I couldn't understand what the conversation was about. I peeked my head up to see. It was the president and standing in front of him was who looked to possibly be his son, Kameke'. They were arguing. I heard Rasheed's name. They must have been talking about him.

Behind me, someone placed their hands over my mouth and wrapped an arm around my waist. I didn't scream. I didn't know which was worse: Being caught or having the president and his son watching me being caught. He whispered in my ear, "It's me."

I calmed and sighed once he let go of me at the end of the stairs. "You scared me."

"Well, my father and my brother were up there. I told you not to go up there."

"No, you told me not to go to the fourth floor or the basement."

He sighed, "Sorry. I have to go to my father."

"Why?"

Rasheed lifted a brow.

"Oh. Okay."

"Raul will take you down to the basement." He then casually walked up the steps.

I turned around and saw Raul stand there with a smile, "I am Raul and you must be Kai."

I grinned, "Yep."

He placed his hand on my back and led me down to the basement.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would look. It looked like just a normal room, but Raul kept pushing me further. We came to a door. Raul looked at me, "You will have to wait here, okay?"

"Okay." I nodded.

He opened the door. Inside were the prisoners. Raul directed them out. Each were skinny and looked to be starved. They looked to not have been just Yulasian prisoners, but innocent citizens of LaTaku. I carefully looked at every single one of them. None were Shane.

I stormed out of the basement. At the basement door, I leaned on the blooded halls and slid down to the floor. My emotions now showed through tears. Shane wasn't there. It hurt to know. I sniffed, trying not to cry anymore. It would not help, but it was all I could do. I held up my knees, folded my arms, and placed down my head.

"Kai, I found out where he is." Rasheed bent down to my level.

I lifted my head to see him, "You did?"

"Yes. Where my father once was."

I quickly stood up and ran down the hall, turned and ran once again to the hall I had to run into earlier. I took the same turn down the hall full of dead soldiers I killed. Then turned left to the other office, up the steps and into the library. Out the double doors, across the hall to the stairway. I ran up them, keeping my composure. I saw the president dead, but I didn't see Kameke'. At the left of the room was a door. I ran to it and opened it. These were steps and it led to another door at the end of them. Almost out of breath, I ran up them.

Finally, I made it to the door. When I tried to open it, it wouldn't open. It was locked. I pounded my fists in the door. I used my body weight to try and knock it down, but I wasn't strong enough. I then remembered the key I had taken from the guy in the office. I used that and placed it into the door. It unlocked it and I quickly opened the door.

Inside was a man in a chair. His wrists were behind him, chained to the floor. He faced away from the door and towards a window. I ran to see him. It was Shane. He was dazed though. "Shane," I said as I placed my hands on his cheeks, "Please answer me."

"Kai?" He smiled, "You're here."

"Of course."

The door then slammed closed. Behind it was Kameke' with a wound in his chest. He held up a gun at me and walked, "You will not touch this man."

"I have every right to."

The door began to pound. "Kai!" Rasheed yelled, "Kill him!"

Kameke' looked from the door to me and chuckled, "Ha, like I'd bet on it."

"Kameke', don't you dare hurt her!" Rasheed hollared through the door.

He put down the gun and walked closer to me. I didn't move an inch from Shane. Shane looked at Kameke' with anger, "Don't touch her."

"Oh," Kameke' said, "You don't like it when I do this?" He grabbed my arm and pulled it behind my back. Kameke' took out a lighter and flicked it until it lit. He placed the flame under my arm.

I tried to hold in the pain, but it soon became too much, "Ow." I held my teeth together to try and put aside the pain. "Ah!"

"Stop!" Shane yelled.

Kameke' dropped me to the floor and walked to Shane with the lighter, "No one said for you to speak."

"Kameke'! Open the door!"

"No brother, I will not," he replied calmly, "I'm having too much fun."

It disgusted me to hear such a remark. I lifted my head up to see him, "Fun? Is this your fun?"

Kameke' bent down to me and grabbed my hair and pulled my head from the ground, "Yes. It is genetic. My father _was_ the same. It is why we are respected. My brother Rasheed on the other hand, is not the same as us. Or, atleast he hasn't shown it yet."

The door was pounded on again, "Shut up, Kameke'!"

My head was slammed down to the ground. It didn't hurt as much as the fire, but I was going to have a headache later on. I kicked Kameke' in his chest where he was shot. It gave me a chance to stand back up.

He yelled in pain and held his hand to where I hit him. He then took out a knife. Quickly, Kameke' walked to me, grabbed my wrists with one hand and pushed me to the wall. He pushed my wrists up close to my face. With the hand that held the knife, he used his thumb to press against my burn and made his way up. I held in as much pain as I could. He then took the knife and cut into the wound. I yelled in pain. There was no way I could have possibly held that in.

"Kameke'! Stop it this instant!" Rasheed pounded on the door, "I'm coming, Kai!"

Shane pulled on the chains that held him down to the floor. They continued to rattle. "Kai, hang on."

I was released and tried to stand. When I opened my eyes, I saw Kameke'. His expression was sickening to me, "Bastard."

"What?" He took the knife and stabbed me in my side.

"Ah!" I tried to breathe and fell to my knees.

The wood on the floor broke. Shane pulled on the chains hard enough to be able to become free. He stood from the chair and turned to Kameke', "I said not to touch her. What part of that did you not understand?"

Kameke' trembled. He dropped the knife and didn't move.

Shane walked to him and used the chains still attached to his wrists to strangle him.

Rasheed busted into the room, almost loosing balance in the process. He watched Kameke' drop to the floor. He sighed, "Thank you."

Shane glanced at him then down to me. He easily lifted me, "No, thank you."

Once I was back at home, Yulasia, my arms were treated and I was back working at the hospital. I saw Eric. He stood in the doorway of Rasheed's old room, "He's finally gone."

I walked in the room and turned on the television. The news was on. "Yep," I said with a smile, "but he's gonna come back." On the screen was Rasheed in LaTaku, giving a speech. He is the new president of LaTaku. Since then, the war ended.

"What? Why is that bastard coming back?"

"Shane promised him to be the best man at our wedding." I threw the remote on the bed and brushed past Erik.

He simply had his mouth open in awe.

**WEDDING DAY:**

This is why I am holding flowers and crying. My wedding day. Marrying the man of my dreams. The man I help save. Also, Rasheed was there. The man who helped me save a man he had never met. Only a few could do such a thing. His heart was clearly made of gold, perfect for a leader. I was honored to have him as Shane's best man.

Once the wedding and the reception was over, Shane, Rasheed, and I went home in the limo.

"You are welcome to come here anytime." Shane said.

Rasheed smiled, "I will try and come as many times as I am able."

"Oh and Kai?" Shane looked down to me as I leaned on him.

"Yes?"

"Where's the Audi?"

Rasheed and I looked at each other. Before I spoke, Rasheed did, "I promise to get that back to you as soon as possible."

We laughed and held up our champaigne glasses, "Cheers."


End file.
